Indian Coastguard Rescue 2 Australians Adrift

The Coast Guard has rescued two Australian nationals on board a yacht, which had been adrift in the Indian Ocean, nearly 158 nautical miles from the Mumbai coastline, for four days due to power failure and a broken sail.

The Australians, sailing from Dubai to Male when their white yacht, Dish Dash, broke down, are said to be healthy. Their names could not be known but they would reach Mumbai early morning on Wednesday, Coast Guard officials said.

“We received information at our Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre here on October 17 about a vessel in distress. We launched a Dornier aircraft from Daman and the yacht was located in the evening around 5.15 p.m. But we could not establish any communication as no power was available on board,” a Coast Guard spokesperson said.

The Coast Guard then asked a merchant vessel, which was sailing close by, to divert its course and offer assistance. m.v. Maersk Claudia informed the Coast Guard of the number of the crew on board the yacht and the reasons for the breakdown.

Meanwhile, Coast Guard ship Veera was diverted to help the crew. But as its technical team could not fix the snag in the yacht, it was decided that Dish Dash be towed to Mumbai, the spokesperson said.